Can you figure out this mystery? (Live - Recording - Burning)

[Ryan.]

Ok I drew this image to scale to show you my exact set up.

 

During band practices we're trying to record a few songs just so we can have a memory of them when we come back the next time. We also want to burn them to listen at home.

 

Snare, Kick, Bass, Guitar are mic'ed. Each mic goes into a seperate input on the Mixwiz. I'm using aux 4 out to balance each level and then send it to the Tascam recorder.

 

Following the instructions to the T, we are able to get decent sounding recordings. Now here is the weird part:

 

We go to finalize and burn. For the longest time we get CDs that are burned, with the exact time of the tracks, but play nothing. WTF is going on? Well, I figure out that even though we can hear the playback ok, we aren't recording loud enough. SO, I record with the inputs adjusted up a bit. Now we burn again and we can barely hear the music, PLUS we can hear ourselves talking about things we were saying during the "mastering" process.

 

I think, wow, some how the mastering process is continuing to record while the songs are being burned and all that.

 

So I do two tests.

 

I record a quick sample. After its done and clear, I go to master it. For the mastering, I mute all tracks on mix wiz and fade the volume to infinity. The song on the CD is there, but silent.

 

Next I record the same sample, but this time I unmute the input on the mix wiz that the monitor out on the 788 is sent to, and bring the fader to 0.

 

This time, perfect recording on the disk.

 

So I guess my question is... WHY would the Tascam box have to use the MixWiz at all after the recording is done? Shouldn't it just have it on its hard drive, then burn to the CD?

 

I know this is confusing.

[Ryan.]

Oh, here is the image

 

[agedhorse]

What does the input level meters read on the burner???

[Ryan.]

The burner is from the 90s (or at least thats what it looks like) Literally 8x24 speed.

 

No levels can be seen.

[Ryan.]

I just don't get why the Tascam would need to run back through the MixWiz on its way to burning. Turning down the mixwiz input that was handling the monitor out of the tascam had an obvious and direct impact on the burning level. Does that make any sense?

[soul-x]

Do you still have the audio input selected instead of assigning a recorded track to the Tascam's mixer channels during mixdown/mastering?

[Ryan.]

 

Do you still have the input selected instead of assigning a recorded track to the Tascam's mixer channels during mixdown/mastering?

 

 

Hm, if I understand what you're saying, YES. The input lights are still lit green on input 1 while mastering/mixdown/burning.

[Ryan.]

Can you do both? Cause there were times when we would record not only what was on the Tascam already, but like I said, our small talk during the mixdown/mastering process.

[soul-x]

 

Hm, if I understand what you're saying, YES. The input lights are still lit green on input 1 while mastering/mixdown/burning.

 

 

No experience with that unit, but imagine you are mixing down your audio input. You need to do whatever procedure assigns recorded tracks to your Tascam's mixer channels instead of the mic/line ins before you mix

[Ryan.]

 

No experience with that unit, but imagine you are mixing down your audio input. You need to do whatever procedure assigns a recorded tracks to your mixer channels instead of the audio ins before you mix/master to cd.

 

 

By mixer are you meaing the Tascam or the MixWiz?

[soul-x]

 

By mixer are you meaing the Tascam or the MixWiz?

 

 

The Tascam's mixer section.

[Ryan.]

Thanks, I'll check into how to do that in the manual. I just don't get it, cause we're going straight by the book, and yet it still does this weird {censored}.

 

OT- Soul where do you guys rehearse?

[Mogwix]

You've obviously got your I/O connections routed wrong. Sounds like you have the burner connected to the mixwiz, instead of directly to the tascam, but if you have it hooked up exactly as pictured then everything should work fine, maybe. Re-read the tascam manual to find out how the inputs and outputs are routed, I don't know what the heck is going on.

 

Spend the time to check where the signal is flowing... start at the mic pre and trace the signal around to see where it ends up in different places.

 

My band recording rig is quite a bit more complex :l

[soul-x]

 

OT- Soul where do you guys rehearse?

 

 

The garage band?

 

We're in a garage, of course (mine). It is in Curtis Park.

[Ryan.]

 

You've obviously got your I/O connections routed wrong. Sounds like you have the burner connected to the mixwiz, instead of directly to the tascam, but if you have it hooked up exactly as pictured then everything should work fine, maybe. Re-read the tascam manual to find out how the inputs and outputs are routed, I don't know what the heck is going on. Spend the time to check where the signal is flowing... start at the mic pre and trace the signal around to see where it ends up in different places. My band recording rig is quite a bit more complex :l

 

 

This is what I don't get. My set up seems fine to me too. All I can think is that during the mixdown/mastering, signal is coming back out of the monitor output of the Tascam, into the input of the mixwiz and back around to the Tascam again. Stupid stupid stupid...

[Mogwix]

 

All I can think is that during the mixdown/mastering, signal is coming back out of the monitor output of the Tascam, into the input of the mixwiz and back around to the Tascam again. Stupid stupid stupid...

 

Weird. Maybe you have the CD player output set to record only the inputs, instead of the output mix.

 

Why aren't you recording in stereo? Why don't you just run the mics directly into the Tascam?

[gspointer]

You must be recording through the mix-wiz, unless there is a mic on the tascam. I think a live mic is picking up the output of the mix-down monitors, as well as your conversations and that is what you are burning.

[Ryan.]

 

Weird. Maybe you have the CD player output set to record only the inputs, instead of the output mix. Why aren't you recording in stereo? Why don't you just run the mics directly into the Tascam?

 

 

Just trying to KISS right now (as if thats possible). inputs on the Tascam are TRS, and I don't have XLR to TRS adapters. I know that would be way simpler but its not doable for now.

[Ryan.]

 

You must be recording through the mix-wiz, unless there is a mic on the tascam. I think a live mic is picking up the output of the mix-down monitors, as well as your conversations and that is what you are burning.

 

 

This is exactly what I was thinking too!

 

But why when I'm selecting a done recording to burn to cd would it start picking up live speaking as well as the music coming out of the qscs?. Piece of crap!

[soul-x]

 

You must be recording through the mix-wiz, unless there is a mic on the tascam. I think a live mic is picking up the output of the mix-down monitors, as well as your conversations and that is what you are burning.

 

 

That's pretty much my thinking. That's why my guess was he probably still had the audio input armed instead of a stored track assigned to the channel in the Tascam's mixer during mixdown.

[agedhorse]

 

No levels can be seen.

 

 

Troubleshooting 101... then nothing is being recorded.

[soul-x]

 

Troubleshooting 101... then nothing is being recorded.

 

 

I think he means the burner doesn't have meters. I am picturing a SCSI/USB/1394 device.

[agedhorse]

 

This is exactly what I was thinking too! But why when I'm selecting a done recording to burn to cd would it start picking up live speaking as well as the music coming out of the qscs?. Piece of crap!

 

 

Piece of crap? or read the manuals?

 

You need to understand the signal routing path and the recording options versus these paths.

 

I suspect things are more complicated than they need to be.

[Ryan.]

 

Troubleshooting 101... then nothing is being recorded.

 

 

No i meant there is no way to see the levels. The burner is just a little white box with a cd in it. When its supposedly recording, the level indicators on the tascam do show audible levels. :

[Ryan.]

No i meant there is no way to see the levels. The burner is just a little white box with a cd in it. When its supposedly recording, the level indicators on the tascam do show audible levels. :

 

I know I know... I'm doing SOMEthing wrong. Or maybe multiple things wrong. But I promise I have gone step by step through the manual at least as far as recording and mix down/mastering go.

 

I think Soul-x is right about what he is saying, but I can't even begin to think in my head to accomplish it.

 

When I finally got it to record a nice clean clear sounding tidbit of a song I had NO sound coming out of the qsc mains, but i did have the channel in the mixwiz that was recving from the tascam monitor output turned up and unmuted. THAT WORKED (no background talking).

 

Horse, I'll give you $50 bucks to come to Godlike studios and fix it for me.